List of firsts for aviation in Australia or for Australian aviators. 
   
International  Frank McNamara (left), Kantara, Suez Canal, Egypt c. May 1917   Arrival of Sir Ross Smith's Vickers Vimy at Mascot, Sydney, NSW. 1920-02-14.   Bert Hinkler returning to Brisbane after his solo flight London to Brisbane, February 1928   Charles Kingsford-Smith with his Mother and Father, 1928.      Year  Date  Event  Location  Plane  Aviator(s)     1917  1917-03-20  Victoria Cross  for Australian Aviator[ 1]   Gaza   B.E.2c   Frank McNamara (VC)     1919  1919-12-10  England to Australia [ 2]   Hounslow  to Darwin   Vickers Vimy   Keith Smith , Ross Smith     1928  1928-02-22  England to Australia, solo[ 3]   Croydon Airport  to Darwin   Avro Avian   Bert Hinkler     1928  1928-06-09  North America to Australia[ 4]   Oakland  to Brisbane   Fokker F.VII   Charles Kingsford Smith , Charles Ulm , James Warner , Harry Lyon     1928  1928-09-11  Australia to New Zealand[ 5]   Richmond, New South Wales  to Christchurch   Fokker F.VII   Charles Kingsford Smith , Charles Ulm , Harold Litchfield, Thomas H. McWilliams    1928  1928-12-20  Antarctic Continent, first flight over[ 6]   Deception Island  to Deception Island   Lockheed Vega   Hubert Wilkins     1930  1930-05-24  England to Australia, solo, female[ 7]   Croydon Airport  to Darwin   Gipsy Moth   Amy Johnson     1930  1930-07-04  Circumnavigation of Earth, via Australia[ 8]   Oakland, California  to Oakland, California , flying west  Fokker F.VII   Charles Kingsford Smith , Charles Ulm     1931  1931-01-07  Australia to New Zealand, solo[ 9]   Sydney Airport  to Hari Hari , Westland   Avro Avian   Guy Menzies     1937  1937-08-18  Australia to South Africa, solo via Asia[ 10]   Archerfield  to Cape Town   Klemm Kl 32   Maude Bonney     1948  1948-11-20  Australia to South Africa, via Indian Ocean[ 11]   Sydney Airport  to Palmietfontein Airport   Avro Lancastrian   L.R. Ambrose     1951  1951-03-27  Australia to South America[ 12]   Rose Bay, New South Wales  to Valparaíso   Catalina   Patrick Gordon Taylor     1983  1983-07-22  Circumnavigation of Earth by helicopter, solo[ 13]   Fort Worth, Texas  to Fort Worth, Texas , flying east  Bell 206B Jetranger III  Dick Smith     1989  1989-08-17  England to Australia, non-stop[ 14]   London Heathrow Airport  to Sydney Airport   Boeing 747-438   David Massy-Greene; George Lindeman     1989  1989-11-11  Circumnavigation of Earth, solo, female[ 15]   Sydney  to Sydney , flying east  Piper Saratoga   Gaby Kennard     1996  1996-05-19  Space flight[ 16]   Kennedy Space Center  to Shuttle Landing Facility , STS-77   Space Shuttle Endeavour   Andrew Thomas     2013  2013-09-07  Circumnavigation of Earth, solo, teenager[ 17]   Wollongong  to Wollongong , flying east  Cirrus SR22   Ryan Campbell   
 
National  John Robertson Duigan at the Controls of his Biplane, Bendigo Racecourse, Victoria, 3 May 1911   William Ewart Hart in his Bristol Boxkite Biplane. 1912.   Maurice Guillaux and his Bleriot XI monoplane after the first mail and cargo flight Melbourne-Sydney. 1914-07-18      Year  Date  Event  Location  Machine  Aviator(s)     1858  1858-02-01  Balloon flight[ 18]   Richmond, Victoria   "Australasian" Balloon  Joseph Dean     1879  1879-04-14  Parachute descent (of balloon and pilot)[ 19]   Melbourne   "Aurora" Balloon  Henri L'Estrange     1888  1888-12-08  Parachute descent[ 19]   Ashfield, New South Wales   "Gem" Balloon  J.T. Williams     1890  1890-02-08  Parachute descent by a woman[ 20]   Newcastle, New South Wales   "Australia" Balloon  Valerie Freitas (as "Valerie Van Tassell")     1894  1894-11-12  Unpowered flight using heavier-than-air device (kites)[ 21]   Stanwell Park, New South Wales   Four box kites  Lawrence Hargrave     1909  1909-12-05  Flight of heavier-than-air machine (glider)[ 22]   Narrabeen, New South Wales   Taylor Biplane Glider  George Augustine Taylor     1909  1909-12-09  Powered flight of heavier-than-air machine[ 23]   Sydney   Wright Model A   Colin Defries     1910  1910-07-16  Flight of Australian-built plane[ 24]   Mia Mia, Victoria   Duigan pusher biplane   John Duigan     1911  1911-12-05  First airman to qualify as pilot in Australia (Licence No. 1)[ 25]   Sydney   Bristol Boxkite   William Ewart Hart     1912  1912-08-06  Military pilot[ 26]   England  Deperdussin monoplane   Henry Petre     1914  1914-03-01  Military flight[ 27]   Point Cook   Bristol Boxkite   Eric Harrison     1914  1914-05-11  Seaplane flight[ 28]   Sydney   Maurice Farman  "hydro-aeroplane"  Maurice Guillaux     1914  1914-07-18  Air mail[ 29]   Melbourne  to Sydney   Blériot XI   Maurice Guillaux     1919  1919-08-06  Air mail over-water flight (in Southern Hemisphere)[ 30]   Adelaide  to Minlaton   Avro 504   Harry Butler     1919  1919-11-16  Crossing of continent[ 31]   Melbourne  to Port Darwin   B.E.2e   Henry Wrigley  and Arthur Murphy     1919  1919-12-16  Bass Strait[ 32]   Stanley, Tasmania  to Torquay, Victoria   Boulton Paul P.9   Arthur L. Long     1924  1924-05-19  Circumnavigation of continent[ 33]   Point Cook, Victoria  to St Kilda, Victoria , anti-clockwise  Fairey III  floatplane  Ivor McIntyre , Stanley Goble     1928  1928-05-17  Royal Flying Doctor Service [ 34]   Cloncurry, Queensland  to Julia Creek, Queensland   de Havilland DH.50   Arthur Affleck     1934  1934-10-01  Autogyro  flight[ 35]   Essendon Aerodrome   Cierva   Douglas Robertson     1937  1937-11-21  Parachute descent by female[ 36]   Essendon   Airco DH.4   Jean Burns   
 
Regional  Joseph Joel Hammond flying his Bristol Boxkite at Ascot Racecourse (Mascot, NSW) April 1911.    
Images   
See also   
References    ^   Garrisson, A.D., "McNamara, Frank Hubert (Francis) (1894–1961)" , " Australian Dictionary of Biography", 1986. Retrieved 2014-07-09.    ^   Burness, Peter, " The 1919 Air Race" , "Australian War Memorial", 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2014-07-07.    ^   Muller, Natalie, "The first solo flight from England to Australia was completed on this day by Australian aviator Bert Hinkler" , "australiangeographic.com.au", 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2014-07-07.    ^   Jones, Michael, "Conquering Distance: Kingsford Smith and the first trans-Pacific flight" , "National Museum of Australia", 2008-06. Retrieved 2014-07-07.    ^   NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage, "1928 First trans-Tasman flight" , "NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage", 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Australian Aviation Hall of Fame, "Sir George Hubert Wilkins" ,  Australian Aviation Hall of Fame  . Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Hsiao, Patrick, "On this day: Darwin applauds record flight" , "Australian Geographic", 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   "Route of the World Flight of Kingsford Smith" . Sydney Morning Herald . 8 July 1930. Retrieved 23 July  2014 .    ^   NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage, "Completion of first trans-Tasman solo flight" , "NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage", 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2014-07-09.    ^   The West Australian, "Solo to Cape Town. Mrs. Bonney's Record." ,  The West Australian  , 1937-09-16. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   The History Journal, "Across the Southern Ocean"  Archived  14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine , "The History Journal". Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Pitkin, Melanie, "The Frigate Bird II and her Captain Revealed" , Powerhouse Museum , 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Baker, Rebecca, "On this day: Dick Smith's around-the-world solo flight" , australiangeographic.com.au , 2010-07-22. Retrieved 2014-07-07.    ^   The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, "First Non-stop England-Australia Unrefuelled Flight - 1989" , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society . Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   "Flight 'was something special' . . . on reflection" . The Canberra Times . 22 November 1989. Retrieved 9 July  2014 .    ^   NASA, "Andrew S. W. Thomas (Ph.D.)" , NASA , 2014-03. Retrieved 2014-07-23.    ^   Arlington, Kim (7 September 2013). " 'Magic': Ryan Campbell, 19, flies to a new world record" . Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 30 July  2014 .     ^   Webb, Carolyn, "Melbourne to celebrate historic flight" , theage.com.au , 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2014-07-07.    ^ a   b   Mines, Frank, "Draft History Of Parachuting In Australia"  Archived  10 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine , Australian Parachute Federation . Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   "Sky Rider" . 31 March 2021. Archived from the original  on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 17 September  2021 .    ^   Australian Aviation Hall of Fame, " Lawrence Hargrave" ,  Australian Aviation Hall of Fame  . Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   National Museum of Australia, "Taylor's biplane glider replica" , "National Museum of Australia". Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Monash University CTIE, "Colin Defries" ,  Monash University CTIE  . Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Museum Victoria, "Aeroplane - Duigan Biplane, Mia Mia, Victoria, 1910" , Museum Victoria . Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Issacs, Keith, "Hart, William Ewart (Bill) (1885–1943)" , Australian Dictionary of Biography , 1983. Retrieved 2014-07-18.    ^   Garrisson, A.D., "Petre, Henry Aloysius (1884–1962)" , Australian Dictionary of Biography , 1988. Retrieved 2014-07-11.    ^   Military History and Heritage Victoria, "RAAF Museum" , Military History and Heritage Victoria . Retrieved 2014-07-11.    ^   Patterson, Robbie, "French pilot Maurice Guillaux made aviation history with first seaplane flight over Sydney " , dailytelegraph.com.au , 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Creedy, Steve, "Weather eye for airmail centenary flight" ,  theaustralian.com.au  , 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2014-07-07.    ^   MacGillivray, Leith G., "Butler, Henry John (1889–1924)" , Australian Dictionary of Biography , 1979. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Stephens, Alan, "Wrigley, Henry Neilson (1892–1987)" , "Australian Dictionary of Biography", 2012. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   The Sun-Herald, "First Man To Fly Bass Strait Dies" , The Sun-Herald , 1954-11-07. Retrieved 2014-07-09.    ^   Milln, Mike, "Flight Lieutenant Ivor Ewing McIntyre CBE AFC" , "South Australian Aviation Museum", 2012-11. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   AusPostalHistory.com, "50 Years Royal Flying Doctor Service 17th May 1928 to 17th May 1978" , "AusPostalHistory.com". Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   The Argus (Melbourne), "First Test Flights of Autogiro" ,  The Argus (Melbourne ) , 1934-10-02. Retrieved 2014-07-22.    ^   The Argus, "Parachute Jump, First Woman in Australia" , The Argus , 1937-11-22. Retrieved 2014-07-08.    ^   Wittber, Carl (Bill) (1 January 2002). "Houdini's Australian dream: one for the record books" . Monash University . Retrieved 19 April  2018 .     ^ a   b   Prisk, Max (10 May 2008). "Houdini's Australian dream: one for the record books" . Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 9 November  2015 .     ^   Hayes, Isabel, "100 years of Sydney Airport flying" , "Sydney Morning Herald", 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2014-07-22.    ^   Hughes, Peter, "Lord Howe Island, Australia: an island entire of itself" , "Telegraph Media Group", 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2014-07-22.    ^   Crome, Ernest Alfred, "E.A Crome collection of photographs on aviation" , "National Library of Australia", 1987. Retrieved 2014-07-22.    ^   Miller, Horace Clive, " Horrie Miller aviation photograph collection, 1906 to 1984" , "National Library of Australia", 1984. Retrieved 2014-07-29.    ^   Hood, Sam, "Hood Collection part II : [Aviation]" , "State Library of New South Wales", 1998-12. Retrieved 2014-07-27.    ^   Hood, Sam, "Sam Hood : photographic collection, 1916-ca.1955" , "State Library of New South Wales", 1998-12. Retrieved 2014-07-27.       
Further reading  Brogden, Stanley (1960), "History of Australian Aviation", The Hawthorn Press.  Copley, Gregory R. (1976), "Australians in the Air" foreword by Sir Norman Brearley, Rigby. ISBN  0727001396   Gibson, Ron J. (1971), "Australia and Australians in Civil Aviation, An Index to Events, Volume 1 1823 - 1920" ISBN  0642981256   Lee, Adam (2008), "Australian Aviation, A Pictorial History", Axiom Publishing. ISBN  9781864765106    
External links